Employees want higher wages The union employees have demanded higher wages and lower health care premiums, according to a previous Times-Gazette report. The average wage rate for employees is between $19 to $25 an hour. Workers also want to bridge the gap between the "two-tier system" of wages. Tier two employees, generally, are paid a lower wage than tier-one employees who have worked at the company for several years, according to a previous Times-Gazette report. "This is the second time the USW has rejected fair, if not generous, offers made by the company for a new labor contract," Kuharik wrote in a letter to employees. "These rejections and the strike that continues send the negative message to our customers, upon whom all of our jobs depend, that our employees do not value their business. These rejections are particularly disappointing in light of the good-faith efforts made by the company to reach a labor agreement that fairly compensates its workers and not only maintains but adds to a robust benefits package."